Special to the American
The $10,000 that the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., State Celebration Commission of Missouri is donating to the MLK Memorial on the National Mall comes just as it begins to become a reality.
Construction is slated to begin this spring on the long-planned shrine to one of America’s greatest citizens.
A ceremonial groundbreaking was held in November 2006 and fundraising was slow before Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., made it a mission to get the entire nation involved.
Organizers have collected about $87 million of the $100 million budget and are anticipating “major financial announcements (during Black History Month”, according to Harry Johnson, president and chief executive of the foundation.
“We still need to raise a few more dollars but we’re very confident that we’re going to get there pretty soon,” Johnson said.
If work starts by April or May the project would remain on schedule for a 2009 opening. The foundation is waiting for final permits from the National Park Service.
“I’m hoping within the next year people will be able to come to Washington and say, ‘Hey, here it is,’ ” he said.
The memorial will sit on four acres along the edge of the Tidal Basin, between the Jefferson Memorial and Lincoln Memorial, where the civil rights pioneer delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech in 1963.
It will feature stone carvings by several artists. It will also have a raised walkway and stone walls engraved with King’s quotes.
The project encountered controversy last summer over the selection of a Chinese sculptor to handle the featured work.
“Ironically, as we enter the final stretch, a few individuals have waged a baseless campaign against the foundation, fueled by unsubstantiated, misleading claims that are untrue. It is imperative that the foundation formally brings to an end this pattern of misinformation,” Johnson said on the foundation’s website.
The foundation has been criticized for including a Chinese sculptor, Lei Yixin, as part of the sculpting team for one portion of the Memorial. In reality, there is a team of individuals working on this and every aspect of the design-build effort. Two African-American artists, Jon Lockard and Ed Hamilton, are working with Lei on the “Stone of Hope” to ensure accuracy of King’s image. Additionally, oversight for the construction and design phases will be led by an African-American, female-owned architectural firm, McKissack & McKissack.”
Throughout the debate about the sculptors, fundraising kept at a steady pace.
A benefit concert in September that drew stars such as Usher, Aretha Franklin, Garth Brooks and Stevie Wonder raised more than $2 million.
Banding together
While private donations from major corporations have created most of the $87 million collected, all Americans can get involved in raising the remaining $13 million.
The foundation is continuing its Band Together to Build the Dream wristband campaign.
For a donation of $5 or more, contributors will receive a “Build the Dream” wristband and lapel pin.
To order a wristband or make an online donation, visit www.mlkmemorial.org.